Stoke Newington

NLSA at the West Reservoir Centre

Our London base and home of the NLSA is the BETTER: West Reservoir Watersports Centre, in Stoke Newington, Hackney.  The club holds sessions all year around on a Sunday, available to members and their guests.  As well as general dinghy sailing for all levels of competence, we organise regular racing practice as well as club competitions held throughout the year, and professional coaching is provided from time to time according to the needs of our members. 

The centre is equipped with shore facilities and a range of dinghies to suit our needs.  

NLSA Membership requirements

The only requirement for adults and children over 12 to qualify for full membership to NLSA is holding RYA Level 2, Youth Stage 3, or equivalent. 

Drop into the Reservoir on a Sunday and ask for the NLSA.  

Our committee members will be happy to talk to you and show you around, or you can contact our Membership Secretary, at membership@northlondonsailing.org  

Family members - Unqualified

We also offer membership for those from age 8 upwards who are close family and household members of a full adult member and want to sail with them as unqualified members.  

NLSA Sailing Sessions

When you are a fully signed-up member of NLSA, all you need to do is to just turn up with your kit, choose your boat and sail.  The use of the boats and buoyancy aids is included in the membership fee. 

SUNDAYS    11:00 - 14:00  (11am - 2pm) - ALL YEAR ROUND

TUESDAYS  17:00 - 20:00 (5pm - 8pm) - SUMMER SAILING (April to Mid September)

Sign-in with the NLSA Registration Officer on arrival at the Centre. 

Sailing procedures at West Reservoir Centre

A Registration Officer (RO) from the NLSA membership will be in place for the first 90 minutes of each sailing session to help with getting members signed in and onto the water.  An RO from NLSA must be present for a session, no sailing will take place.  The RO must make sure members sign in and out of the Centre.  Buoyancy aids are available and must be worn.  Rigging, launching and recovery advice will be available from the Senior Instructor allocated to NLSA duty, and other NLSA members can also give advice and assistance where relevant. 

All members are expected to volunteer for at least one RO duty per year, and regular sailors should undertake a duty every few months.  You can email any of the RO coordinators to find available dates and sign up: caroline.brown@northlondonsailing.org or litsa.mouka@ northlondonsailing.org.  

A briefing document will be sent to members ahead of their RO duty that will contain all the most relevant up-to-date information.

Boats available at Stoke Newington

The dinghies sailed by the NLSA at Stoke Newington belong to the BETTER West Reservoir Centre. There are boats suitable for all ages/crew weights and levels of experience. The fleet is based mostly on boats from Laser and Topper International and includes:

Guests

Qualified adult members are welcome to bring occasional guests by registering online and paying a guest fee.  At the moment there is a severe shortage of two-hander boats, which are supplied by the Centre and over which we have no control. This means that the committee has reluctantly decided to limit the number of guest bookings to two per session.

To allow time for the necessary checks, it is important that guest booking applications are made as early as possible, and not left to the last moment so the registration needs to take place well in advance and no later than 5pm on the Thursday before the Sunday or Tuesday sailing session for which the booking is being made. 

Guest booking form:  CLICK HERE

BETTER: The West Reservoir Centre

Funded by the Lottery and other grants, the Centre is run by BETTER (GLL - Greenwich Leisure Ltd) for the London Borough of Hackney as an RYA Training Centre and runs activities for schools and community groups, sailing courses for adults, and a Saturday youth club for young people aged 8 to 18. 

BETTER (GLL) offers a large number of RYA Level 1 and RYA Level 2 sailing courses each year between April and October at the base in Stoke Newington. 

Start Sailing at The West Reservoir - with BETTER

RYA Level 1 Start Sailing Course This is an introduction to the sport, covering the minimum knowledge required to get afloat under supervision. 

RYA Level 2 - Basic Skills course Becoming a competent sailor in light and moderate winds.  Rigging, launching and building confidence sailing in all directions. Capsize recovery and essential safety knowledge. 

The duration for each course is 2 days. All courses are run by suitably qualified staff. The courses cost approximately £229. This includes the cost of logbooks and awards as appropriate.  

The Centre is recognised by the Royal Yachting Association, the British Canoeing and the Adventure Activity Licensing Service (licence No. R1032).  It is inspected regularly to ensure the highest standards of safety and tuition are maintained. 

For more information about the charitable social enterprise, go to About Better(GLL)

For more information on how to enrol on a course at The West Reservoir 

Youth Sailing

Stoke Newington - Youth sailing at the West Reservoir Centre is provided by BETTER (not NLSA).  

For more information click here. 

How to rig a Laser

Tips on how to rig a Laser and take care of the boat.